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Thursday, May 06, 2010

DRM tests in Brazil on 26 MHz

Tests in the frequency 26.040 MHz - Sao Paulo - Brazil

Source:Tele-Hours Summary - Digital Radio

The FCC has issued authorization to the Padre Anchieta Foundation, an organization maintains the Radio and TV Culture, for the testing of the System of Digital Audio Broadcasting DRM -Digital Radio Mondiale, standard developed in Europe. Tests will be done in the frequency 26.040 MHz, with bandwidth digital signal that is radiated between 10 kHz and 20 kHz, in Sao Paulo.

The tests will be conducted over a period of one year but may be extended for an equal period, and aim to support the choice of standard to be adopted by the country. The experiments will besuspended if found the occurrence of harmful interference to radio stations regularly licensed and installed.

At the end of March, decree published by the Ministry of Communications announced the technical guidelines of what should be the model of digital radio to be deployed in Brazil. One of the requirements is that the standard to be adopted meets both the AM and FM systems, ensuring that the consumer has to buy different devices for each system.

According Minicom, so far, the two patterns tested - DRM and IBOC European American - did not meet all technical requirements. According to the tests already carried out, the digital systems in the world today do not bring a quality far superior to the one presented by the FM (Frequency Modulated) analog.

The European standard, DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale), also has the preference of the government for being an open system, which opens the possibility of technology transfer. U.S. standard, the IBOC (In-Band-On-Channel), already tested in Brazil, besides depending on the payment of royalties for their use, presents difficulties for transmissions in Medium and Short Wave, where there is greater interest of the government. (From the Newsroom)